Ballina, Lismore and Richmond Valley councils all have a popularly elected Mayor and this election saw all three sitting conservative mayors returned.
Ballina Council
Sitting Mayor Sharon Cadwallader has been returned with 68.06 per cent of the vote (15,455 votes) an increase of ten per cent on her 2021 election results where she received 58.77 per cent of the vote. Coming in second was former Greens councillor Kiri Dicker who received 31.94 per cent of the vote (7,253 votes) at the final count with preferences. This was followed by Labor’s Andrew Broadly who received 3,173 votes before being excluded.
‘I am very humbled by the vote of confidence with over 68 per cent of the vote,’ Mayor Cadwallader told The Echo.
‘I just want to say thank you for reelecting me for a second term. It is over two decades that I have been serving the community, I take nothing for granted. I am grateful for the amount of support I’ve received and will continue to work hard for the community which I love.’
Greens Cr Dicker told The Echo ‘I would like to congratulate Sharon on her convincing win.’
‘I want to thank all the people that voted for me it was a record vote for a Greens Mayoral candidate in Ballina Shire.’
Lismore City Council
Lismore saw Steve Krieg voted back in as Lismore Mayor with 66.24 per cent of the vote, 14,209 votes once preferences were distributed. This was down slightly on his 2021 election that saw his receive 69.82 per cent of the vote with 15,947 votes with preferences.
Greens Mayoral candidate and former councillor Vanessa Ekins came in second position with 33.76 per cent of the vote (7,241 votes) followed by Labor’s Harper Dalton-Earls with 3,890 votes.
Ms Ekins did not run as a councillor and conceded defeat following the election in September telling The Echo that is had been a a privilege and honour being a Lismore City councillor.
‘I look forward to seeing a team of informed and compassionate councillors engaging with community in conversations about how we live with the floodplain, the homes of the future, sustainable water, healthy rivers, farms and forests,’ she said.
Richmond Valley Council
Robert Mustow has been re-elected as Mayor of Richmond Valley Council (RVC) with 66.28 per cent of the vote (7,149 votes). This is significantly down on his 2021 election that saw him receive 71.71 per cent of the vote (9,613 votes) in the two person race.
2024 saw four people run for Mayor of RVC with newcomer Independent Lyndall Murray receiving 33.72 per cent of the vote (3637 votes) followed by former RVC general manager John Walker on 2,657 votes then Independent RObert Hayes on 1,884 first preference votes.
Ms Murray told The Echo that she is ‘blown away’ with the support she has received across the area.
‘I came second in the mayor vote and I won the mayors vote across Broadwater, Coraki, Evans Head, and Woodburn, excluding Evans Head pre-poles.
‘I really got a great boost in confidence with the voting in this election. I think there is an appetite for change. This will give me a chance to look, listen, and learn during this council term and then be in a strong position for the next council elections. People from other council’s have reached out to say how impressed they are with how I performed,’ she said.
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